The Start of Something Beautiful
by ReaperDuckling
Summary: Trying to keep their own heads above the water, they keep pushing each other down under the surface. Why love when there's the potential of getting hurt because of it?
1. Wedding Nails

**AN: ** I only have four things to say about this story:

- I am very, very sorry to all of you that's been writing me messages asking me to continue Idiot Prayer and All I Ever Wanted, but I'm cancelling (deleting) all of my other multi-chapter stories in order to write on this one

- Yes. Rukia's got white hair in this story. And yes, it's important.

- This story is so full of crack pairings, you'll puke cocaine and bicarbonate for a week

- _**This story is dedicated to some of my best friends Annie and Luwam (for always believing and supporting me and my crazy ideas), to Tove (for always reading through and helping me with my stories) and to my boyfriend Magnus (for always listening to me when I'm reading said stories aloud to him and giving me advice when I need it, even though he doesn't really want to).**_

**Warnings: **CRACK PAIRINGS, Some Violence, A lot of Blood, Smutty Smut Smut Smut

**Disclaimer: **Obviously, I do not own Bleach. I know. It was a chock for me too.

_Chapter 1. Wedding Nails_

They painted her lips with wolfs blood.

Still warm, it rinsed down her chin and her throat, down under the thin white cloth of her wedding dress, making her shiver slightly.

They hated this.  
She knew it.

Shiro's breath was labored _(like if he was about to cry, but she knew that he'd never actually do that)_ as he was brushing out her silver hair, Ukitake's hands were trembling slightly when he ran a bloody thumb over her jawline and Toushiro, that was massaging her naked feet, had been dead silent all day.

The only one that actually seemed content with the situation was Gin, that was standing guard by the door, humming to himself as he watched them prepare her for the wedding ceremony, smiling as always.

Rukia herself wasn't really sure what she should be thinking.

This had been her choice; it wasn't _her _that was forced into the marriage and, unlike many other women, she'd gotten to choose her husband almost completely by herself.

And yet she couldn't help but feel slightly… helpless.

She didn't know this man.

He'd only just arrived at the doorsteps of the temple one month ago, and not once had the two had any actual conversation other than that of formal greetings.

She'd heard his story, though, or at least the story that he'd chosen to tell, and she'd like to believe that he was, if not the one thensent to her for a purpose.

Rukia thought of all of this and more as Toushiro removed his hands and Ukitake helped her to her feet.

As the feeling of Shiro's breath on her skin disappeared, she felt slightly empty inside, and the tension in the room mixed with her nervousness made her gnaw on her lower lip. She stopped quickly, though, as her mouth was immediately filled with the cold, metallic taste of the wolf's blood.

"You look so pretty, Rukia-chan." Gin happily cooed and she forced out a smile for him.

"Thank you, but I don't really think that that's the intension." She gestured to the blood that was still rinsing down her jawline.

"Won't you spin for us?"

Shiro's voice startled her slightly, not only because it was unexpected but also because it sounded so strangled _(so sad). _But even though she hesitated, even though she really didn't want to do it, she decided to cooperate with his request.

She took a couple of steps away from the others and then continued to spin around, slowly, again and again and again on small, naked feet across the room.

By the time she stopped, Shiro had left, Gin was applauding and cooing from delight and both Ukitake and Toushiro were smiling, all though sadly.

"Come on now, love…" Ukitake took her hand. "… it's time to go."

~wNw~

The second she put her feet down on the temple floor, the choir began to sing.

Their voices were ominous and shrill as they echoed against the stone walls, and they filled Rukia whit so much dread that she froze on the spot.

Slowly, she began to drink in the sight of her wedding ceremony.

The temple was dark and hotter than she'd ever experienced it being, as she'd never ventured into it during any time but winter before. Hundreds upon hundreds of burning wax candles were placed across the floors and over the walls, making all shadows grow tall and dark and threatening.

Her wedding guests were cloaked in black, shapeless capes and bags were thrown above their heads. They were looking at her through cut out holes with big, shining eyes that seemed to be burning when reflecting the fires – there were no consolation in those eyes, nor pity.

And then there was the altar.

Two men were standing on top of it; first there was Byakuya, her high priest, who was looking as stoic as ever dressed in blood red leather and a long, snow white fur coat. There was a dagger in his hands and spread out across of him laid an enormous, naked and bloody wolf's corps that was reeking in the summer heat. The smell of the dead beast was so foul that it made Rukia's stomach turn, and yet it wasn't the corpse that made Rukia's instincts scream for her to run; but the sight of the second man, her husband to be.

He was dressed in nothing but the dark, shaggy fur of the skinned wolf, his face was bloodstained and contorted into the biggest, most terrifying grin she'd ever seen and the light from the candles made it look like his one eye was alight with fire.

Suddenly, she couldn't seem to be able to think straight.  
What was she doing there, why was he there, why the _**hell **_had she chosen _**him **_out of _**all the people to marry? **_

She didn't know him.

She didn't _**want **_to know him!

He'd come to them beaten and half starved and paranoid, asking for shelter, but he'd never told them who was chasing him, or _**for**__**what.**_

When a hand was placed on her shoulder, gently, she almost jumped, but managed to stop herself just in time.

Turning around, she found herself looking into the big, teal blue eyes of Toushiro. They looked sad, but there was a smile on his face and the soft grip he held on her axle made her feel a little more secure.

"You are the Hiyuki..." He whispered, making something in her stomach stir. "…the daughter of Winter. _There is nothing that you can't do."_

Rukia wanted to disagree, but held her tongue anyway, knowing that it would do no good. Never the less, Toushiro's words had made her feel a little more secure about herself and when she smiled this time, the smile was one of gratitude.

"Thank you." She whispered before turning her eyes back to the altar and she began her bride's march; her incomplete, silver haired household in toll.

As she got closer and closer to her husband to be, the choir's singing grew in strength and in multitude, causing another set of shivers to erupt all over her back.

She could feel the eyes of her audience upon her, could hear their whispers as she walked passed them, but she never looked at them, never bothered to turn her head around to face any other persons gaze than the burning eye of her fiancé.

It had seemed frightening in the doorway, where he had been far away and cloaked in shadows, but the closer to him she got, the more obvious it became that he was only human, and so her fears melted away.

He was tall _(on the bridge of monstrously tall, she realized as she got closer and saw that she'd only reach his mid waist at best)_ but he was also skinny and scrawny and the big, demonic smile on his lips that she'd feared so much at first sight seemed a little less certain, a little less _angry _and a little more insecure when up close.

When reaching him, she stalked right up to him and grabbed his hand _(it was warm and sweating, but so was hers, so it didn't matter much) _before turning towards Byakuya.

As the High Priest opened his mouth to speak, all the singing stopped at once and the temple became as silent as a crypt.

"Love and Faith and Blood have brought us here today…" he began to preach and Rukia could feel her fiancé clutch her hand a little tighter. "… the Hiyuki, blood of Mother Wolf, have chosen her mate and thus, we shall bind him to her.

He shall follow by her side through happiness and through pain, through summer and through winter, through life and through death. He shall obey her every command and take no other woman to bed for as long as he'll live; he shall adore her mind and he shall worship her body.

His will be a life of pain, but his sacrifice will be rewarded as his blood will stream through the body of the next Holy Daughter, the next Hiyuki…" Something dark crossed Byakuya's features just before he raised the shining dagger to the light, making Rukia's heart pound with anticipation and fear. She knew what was coming (Ukitake must have told her about the procedure and what was expected of her a thousand times already) and she knew that it would hurt.

With one fluid movement, the Priest bent down to the floor and pierced the wolf's back with his knife. "In the name of the Stranger…" As lithe as any feline, he got back on his feet, bloody knife in hand, and walked up to Rukia's to-be-husband. When he placed the knife's edge on the other man's lips, her fiancé cursed and let go of her hand. "…in the name of the Father…" With one quick, smooth motion, Byakuya pierced his skin, creating a perfect cut that stretched itself across his lower lip. He flinched and he cursed, loudly this time, and Rukia could feel her hands start to tremble as she watched the blood trailing down his chin mix with the wolf blood that already stained his face from before.

Before she knew what was happening, the blade had been put against her own mouth and Byakuya was looking down at her, his grey eyes cold but swimming with pride.

He adjusted the knife in his hand, let the edge trace her lower lip slowly, making Rukia know that he was giving her some time to steel herself for the cut.

She was nervous, a lot more nervous than she had though that she would be, and the feeling of the audience's eyes upon her body (there were so many expectations on her, so many demands _(She may not cry, she may not scream. She may not curse of flinch or shy away from the pain. She is the Daughter of a Goddess, she is a Chosen One, __**The Hiyuki)**_) mixed with the promise of pain from the knife and the commitment she was about to throw herself into made her want to shrink away and hide, disappear into the very ground itself, make everyone forget she was ever there.

But she didn't.

And no matter how much she wanted it, there was no going back _(her mate had already been marked as hers, and soon, she'd be marked as his as well)_.

Thus, she stood up tall and met Byakuya's eyes, nodded when seeing the question in his eyes, and just barely let out a small squeal of pain as the knife pierced through her skin and the cut upon her lower lip was made. "…And in the Name of the Mother, You shall Become One…"

Her mouth was filled with the cold, metallic taste of blood almost immediately and she was forced to blink away some stubborn tears that kept building up in her eyes, but apart from that she believed that she did well.

Byakuya placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face her almost-husband.

He was sitting on his knees, making them come into eye level. The smile on his face was gone and something strange, something that she couldn't quite grasp nor understand was shining through his one, violet eye.

She looked at the way that the blood was rinsing down his lip and tentatively reached out a hand to wipe it off, only to have him stop her half way with a hand off his own, a hand so big it seemed to swallow hers up completely.

Before she knew it, his other hand was around her neck, gripping around it with such force that it hurt.

In the background, Byakuya was still talking, but Rukia couldn't hear what it was that he was saying and the audience looking at them seemed to have vanished into nothing in her mind _(there was just Him and Her now, only there was nothing romantic about it; it was a struggle for power)_.

Slowly, almost tentatively, he leaned in towards her, and smiled.

"Hello wife…" he whispered huskily. His voice was sly and threatening, like that of a predator's waiting to pounce on its prey, but it didn't scare her, _he _didn't scare her.

"…and the kiss, the kiss of Blood Exchanged, will bind him to Her in Painful Life and Painful Death, will make him a part of Her, forever."

And just like that, he smashed their faces together and his tongue was in her mouth _(pressing against her inner cheeks, licking her teeth, forcing its way in under her own tongue, exploring the entrance to her throat, __**almost suffocating her**__ as the taste of his, the wolf's and her own blood mixed)_ and his hands were in her hair _(grabbing, pulling, wrestling the silver strands)_.

It hurt a lot, as he wasn't only abusing her hair but also molding their fresh wounds against each other, making quick waves of hot, stinging pain surge through her body again and again.

She refused to back down however, refused to let him know that he was hurting her, refused to let anyone know how repulsed she was at the feeling of him inside of her, and so she closed her eyes and endured.

As he pulled away from her, he smiled and breathed a name across her lips, _"Nnoitra"_, and she took his hand, looked him in the eye and answered: "Mine."

~wNw~

Her fingers looked like the bones of a bird.

Thin, pale and trembling _(if only ever so slightly) _they looked like he could snap them with a twist of his wrists.

She was so tiny.

Tiny breasts, tiny waist, tiny body, tiny lips, tiny nose, tiny _**everything. **_

Except for her eyes.

Her eyes were enormous.

Wordlessly, Nnoitra watched her shed the thin, white wedding gown and drop it to the floor; her back turned towards him as she sat down on the edge of the bathtub, which was the only furniture in the small, dark room and filled with steaming hot water.

Slowly, she turned her head around to glance at him, and as their eyes met _(pale violet against deep dark blue)_, he shot her the biggest, most terrifying grin that he could muster, making her turn her head back around quickly.

She was trembling.

She was afraid of him.

And he loved it _(because out there, he'd play along in their games and follow this pathetic lil' doll face's commands, if only to maintain appearance, but in here, __**he**__ was in charge, and she needed to remember that)_.

"What's yer' name, wife?" He asked as he walked up to the bathtub, letting the bloody wolf skin fall to his feet as he progressed, keeping the smile on his face all the way. "Ya never told me out there, by the altar…" She shivered when he put a hand on her shoulder. "…I gave ya' mine, but ya' didn't respond… don't'cha think that that's a lil' rude, hm? Wife?"

Growing annoyed by her silence, he clenched her chin between his fingers and forcefully turned her head around to face him.

"What's yer' name, _**wife?**_"

"I am the Hiyuki, daughter of Mother Wolf and…"

"Yer a stupid lil' bitch aren't ya; did I ask ya' for yer' titles? Did I? I asked ya' for yer name, wife, yer name that is…?"

"I am the Hiyuki, daughter of the Holy Mother Wolf and the bringer of winter, and you shall refer to me by my proper title, _**mate, **_or I'll have my men pull your tongue from your mouth."

Chocked into silence, Nnoitra didn't resist it when his little wife pulled away from his grip. He watched her raise one, spotless hand to wipe some spit _(his or hers he wasn't sure)_ off of her still bloodstained cheeks _(the dark, now dry blood contrasted nicely with her pale skin and her silver white hair, making her look almost attractive)_, watched her sigh and close her eyes before she turned around on the bathtub edge and slid down into the water.

Nnoitra watched as a pale, rosy blush spread itself across of her body because of the heat; watched the nipples on her small breasts become erect and involuntarily felt his cock begin to grow and throb with anticipation and lust.

As she turned around on her stomach and ducked her entire head down under the water, the beginning of a smile started to take shape on Nnoitra's lips and he sat down on the bathtub edge to enjoy the show that she so obviously was setting up for him.

She came back up to breathe again quickly, splashing water all around her as she threw her hair out of her face and opened her beautiful, dark eyes to look at him.

The wolf blood was rinsing down her chin once again, into the bathtub water, and Nnoitra blinked, slightly put out of beat when he saw that she was blushing.

"You should fuck me now…" she whispered, voice trembling.

She was so confusing… the first second she's afraid of him, the second she's threatening him, the third she's seducing him and the fourth… she almost seemed scared of him again.

"Ye're a virgin aren't ya…?" He asked as he sunk down into the bathtub _(the water was scolding hot and made him feel slightly heavy headed, but it didn't matter that much)_, making her crawl up to its rear end and pull her legs up to her chest to make room for him. "…Ya should be… ye're so overprotected ya shouldn't even be able to do it to yerself without yer guards watching…" When she opened her mouth to protest, he shot his hand out to cover it and gave her a wicked smile. She tried to pull away from him, but he only secured his grip around her face and leaned in towards her. At the look of pure horror that began to shine through her eyes, his smile broadened _(if only ever so slightly) _and he slid his free hand in between her legs, where he let it rest in the mess of her silky, black pubic hair. "…unless ya did it with one of them, hm? Ya ever fucked one of those white haired pretty boys a' yours?" Slowly, devastatingly slowly, he let his finger slide down the opening of her vagina, making her gasp and clench her pathetic little hands around his arm, trying to force his hand off of her. For a second or so, Nnoitra only chuckled at her desperate attempts, but then her knee _(accidentally or not accidentally, he had no idea) _found its way to his balls, and a wave of pleasure erupted through his body as they were rubbed together and squeezed, making his cock twitch and his finger slide completely into her gender.

Under his hand, his little wife gave out one, pathetic little mewl. She removed her knee from Nnoitra's balls _(making him sigh in relief or in disappointment, once again, he wasn't sure)_, and her hold on his arm became so hard that it hurt.

Slightly put out of beat from this sudden turn of events, Nnoitra felt her grind up against his finger, trying to get it out of her tight, all too dry vagina, without a word.

She was gasping and whimpering slightly, and when tears began to fill her big blue eyes and fall down her cheeks, he wiped them off with his thumb.

"Ya should stay still…" he said, suddenly, and _(to his surprise) _she actually obeyed and froze on spot as a result. Slowly, he began to pull his finger out of her, making her wrap her arms around his neck and fall forward to rest her forehead against his chest, panting heavily and trembling like a leaf.

"Ya really are stupid… Here I am, trying to be nice to yer pathetic lil' virgin cunt, and then ya have to be all eager and shove it all the way into ya…" When he felt her try to muffle out a protest under his hand, he stopped pulling his finger out and burst out into a loud, shrill laughter that echoed across the walls. "…really, wife, I always knew that I was sexy, but that ye'd find me _that _irresistible is a surprise… I can't say that the feeling is mutual though-OUGH!" Nnoitra quickly recoiled both of his hands from her and pushed her away before he pulled his right hand to his face to inspect the bite mark she'd inflicted on him. It was red and throbbing with pain, letting him know that it was to become a bruise, and he grimaced slightly at the sight of it _(not because of the pain, he was used to that, but because __**she **__had inflicted it upon him)_.

"Fucking bitch!" He cursed, but before he could do anything else she'd crawled up his waist and locked her legs around his abdomen, burying her hands in his hair.

"You really are full of bullshit aren't you, mate…?" She asked, determination and anger shining through her eyes. "…Now you don't seem to realize your role to play in all of this. Your job is to _**fuck me, **_not talk..." Flabbergasted, Nnoitra felt her grind up against his cock and moaned at the feeling of pleasure it sent running through his veins, burying his hands in the back of her hair out of reflex. "…I expect nothing else off of you, as a matter of fact, I _don't want _anything else from you…" Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice was telling Nnoitra that this was _**wrong, **_he has to take command, he has to show this little bitch who was really in charge, but the feeling of her increasingly moistening gender _(soft, wet and oh so sweet)_ teasinglyrubbing up and down the length of his cock accompanied by her small, soft breasts crashing into his chest was drowning it out. His hands were crawling with a sudden desire to touch, _explore_, _**devour**_ this strange little silver haired rabbit of his and his member was throbbing with _**want. **_

He felt her tremble under his hands, heard her gasp when he made a clumsy attempt to enter her by thrusting his hips up towards hers and he moaned in pace with her as the head of his cock grasped and rubbed up against the entrance of her vagina. "…and…" she breathed, half dazed and shaking. "…and if you ever, _ever _disrespect me in such a way again…" Suddenly, she stopped moving completely, pulled his head down by the back of his long, black hair and looked him straight in the eyes. "…I'll have you killed."

She might as well have smacked him.

The sudden wave of anger, betrayal and something akin to disappointment _(only that couldn't be it, because he didn't care enough about this stupid lil' bitch to actually feel disappointed about her) _made him freeze, if only for an instant, unsure of what to do. But then the old reflexes came into play, and Nnoitra reacted in the only way he knew how to when put before a "threat" –he clenched his hands around her throat and strangled her.

"We'll ain't that a pretty sight…" he mocked as he watched her eyes grow big in their sockets and panic creep itself across her features. "… a helpless lil' princess, dangling from the hands of the big bad wolf himself, unable to protect herself and all alone…" She tried to kick him, but he avoided the blow with his legs and stomped his feet over hers to pinch them in their place. Under his hands, she gasped and struggled, scratched and hit his arms; her increasing desperation and panic making her stronger, but Nnoitra's grip was as firm as stone. "…where's yer' guards now, wife? Can't hear ya', can they? Who's going to protect you…?" As quick as a viper, he let go off her with his left hand and thrust half of his index finger into her gender instead.

It was tighter than ever, her walls clenching around his finger so much that it almost hurt, but it was moist from the bathwater and the dry humping they'd done before, making it relatively easy for him to pull in and out of her anyway.

"…who's going to protect you, little wife?" He whispered, almost lovingly, before he let go of her gullet and clenched his right hand over her neck instead, keeping her firmly in place while she drew in long, shaky, panicky takes of breath.

"Wh-" she spluttered, her face flushed red and her eyes wide. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Shh…" he hushed, smiling as he increased the pace of his finger, making her blush (_if possible_) even redder than before. When she opened her mouth to protest, he began to make circular movements inside of her, finger probing and flexing her tight walls, and instead of a voice coming out of her mouth there came a low moan that couldn't be from anything but pleasure.

"You..." she managed to finally choke out. "…stop it, I… you shouldn't… oh…" As slowly as he possibly could, he let the entirety of his finger slide inside of her, completely ignoring her pleads of mercy as she grabbed his shoulders for support and let out sobs, mewls and moans of pleasure. "…Nnoitra…" she finally breathed, voice shaky from the pain, yet laced with lust. "…Nnoitra…"

This was the first time she'd said his name.

The realization made something in his stomach stir and a strange feeling of satisfaction (_pride?_) wash over him, and before he knew it, he'd placed his feet behind her back and used them to pull her to him, making the bathwater swell and rinse over the bathtub edge.

Suddenly, his nose was in her hair and he was kissing her forehead, the head of his cock pressed against the hand that he'd placed over her vagina.

He was gaining speed, his finger pumping and fondling the inside of her gender so quickly now that all she could do was press her face against his chest and try to breathe.

"Do you want me to fuck you…?" Nnoitra breathed in between the kisses he was planting.

"Y-yes…" she whispered back, just loud enough for him to hear it.

"Then tell me your name, Hiyuki… I want to know your name."

She turned her head up to face him, and he instinctively knew that it was time to stop moving his finger at the sight of the seriousness in her eyes.  
He let it stay inside of her, though, and she let that pass without comment.

Slowly, almost tentatively, she reached out one, small hand to caress his cheek and smiled.

"It's Rukia."

That strange _**something **_stirred in his stomach once again, only it was stronger this time, making Nnoitra shift on his place, suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable.

"Rukia..." he tried, pulling his finger out of her gender as he spoke. "…yer' name is Rukia… was that so hard to say?"

She didn't respond.

Instead, she moved a stray of hair from his face and as she placed it behind his ear whispered, voice trembling: "I want you to fuck me now…"

As the feeling of her warm breath crashed against his earlobe, Nnoitra felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine and, suddenly, the urge to kiss her lips and claim her as his own were so strong that he could barely stand it.

His cock was throbbing, _pleading, __**screaming **_at him from the lack of attention and as he'd pulled his hand away from her gender and she pressed herself up against his, he barely lost it from the pent up sexual frustration alone (_he hadn't been inside of a woman for __**so long!**_)

for half a second, all he wanted to do was to grab her butt cheeks and take her then and there (_He wanted her to moan, to mewl, to cry. She'd said his name twice. Now he wanted her to scream it_. _He wanted to see what kind of noises he could extract from her, and how. He wanted to see what kind of __**power **__it was that he held over her_) but then he remembered her words from before; _"Your job is to fuck me. I expect nothing else off of you, as a matter of fact, __**I don't want**__ anything else from you."_ and with that memory, reality came crashing back down at him.

Without a word, he pushed his little wife away and rose from the bathtub.

"Wh-" he heard her stutter as he picked up the still bloody wolf skin from the floor and draped it across his wet shoulders. "What are you doing? Shouldn't we be…?"

"Nah…" he answered, doing his best to sound as bored as possible. Turning around towards her, he forced out the biggest, smuggest looking smile that he could muster (_and suddenly, she was looking so small, so confused, so afraid_). "…I don't fuck pathetic, annoying, ugly lil' sluts."

And then he turned around and he left, all the while reminding himself that this marriage of theirs was all just a game; a game of which he had just won the first round.


	2. Halo

**AN:**

First of all, I'd like to apologize (didn't I start my last Authors Note like this as well? XD) for the delay on this chapter, it's just that I've been so busy with my studies that I haven't had the time OR the energy to write. Now that I'm on my semester, however, I'm planning to write until my fingers _**BLEED!**_ =D

Second, I'd like to announce that I'm now completely finished with the planning of the storyline and (not to sound arrogant… AAGH who am I kidding? I AM arrogant!) this story is going to be AWESOME! =D

**Third, prepare yourself to meet some new main characters AND this story's second main pairing. I hope that you'll enjoy this twist and not be TOO disappointed about not reading about Rukia or Nnoitra this chapter.**

…and… that's it. That's all I've got to say.

**Warnings: **Mayuri (need I say more? XD)

**Disclaimer: **This will seriously be the last time I'm saying this (it's only been two chapters and I'm already sick of it): NO. I do NOT own Bleach. Stop reminding me already XD

* * *

**Chapter 2. _Halo_**

Seventeen festivals.

Seventeen Goddess forsaken festivals held in the name of drunken fools, teasing whores and sinful pleasures, all throughout the whole damned summer - and he was forced to attend to every_ single __**fucking**__ one of them. _

It disgusted him; the heat, the atmosphere, the laughter, the way that the Kaonyuki's _(the "innocent" lamb and the daughter of Summer) _Hime's _**(whores, every single one of them) **_twisted and coiled and pressed their barely-dressed bodies against the stage floors as if to make love to them. It disgusted him that men flocked to them like flies to a fire with bulges in their pants and the smell of alcohol and sweat thick around their bodies; it disgusted him that after every show, the Hime would choose one of the pathetic excuses of men (often some highborn man with hungry eyes and pockets heavy from gold) with her backstage.

But what disgusted Mayuri Kurotsuchi the most wasn't the heat, the alcohol, the smells, the whores or even the men – but the fact that all of it, every single move the girls made _(on stage __**and **__in bed) _where considered to be sacred, ancient rituals passed on through generations upon generations of Hime's before them, that they were _respected_, even **worshipped** in some parts of their pathetically small country.

The memories of some of the more reputable Hime's still lived strong within the people's minds, and every man that was taken backstage during a festival hoped that their girl wouldn't only bless him with fertility and health – but that she'd turn out to be a new "Hikifune the warrior maiden", "Senna the blessed" or even "Retsu the wise" (even though Retsu Unohana herself wasn't even dead yet, but was sitting next to Mayuri on the high table eating peaches and smiling down at the crowd).

Carefully, so that she wouldn't notice, Mayuri glanced towards the black haired High Priestess and watched her as she gracefully raised the peach to her mouth and took a small bite out of the juicy fruit.

For having been a Hime, Unohana was an abnormally interesting (and scary) specimen Mayuri had to admit.

Having been brought to the temple at the age of twelve because her parents hadn't had the money to feed her, she was recruited to be one of the then current Kaonyuki's Hime's almost instantly because of her beauty and her willingness to obey.

She'd probably lost her virginity during a festival just like this one (_and the men had probably been all over her, since having laid with a virgin Hime is considered to be the most sacred thing a man can experience during his lifetime, except for marrying one of the Beast Daughters of course_) and rumor had it that during her time with the dancers she'd gotten pregnant seven times, but had been forced to abort all of them (_because ironically, the Hime's aren't allowed to produce any offspring_).

She quickly climbed the ranks of the Hime's and before her twenty fifth birthday (the time when all Hime's are considered too old to serve and are being retired) she'd been the Kaonyuki's most recognized and coveted Hime for eight years.

After her retirement, however, she didn't decide to relax and do nothing (the retired Hime's were all incredibly spoiled with servants of their own and sometimes even their own mansions if they'd had a particularly successful "career") for the rest of her life. Instead she taught herself how to read and how to write; she started studying mathematics, biology, chemistry, astronomy, history and (most importantly) medicine – and five years later, she presented the Kaonyuki with a liquid that would make the uterus chill and die, rendering the woman who drank it unable to ever have a child and the painful and often lethal abortions unnecessary.

The liquid made a huge success among the Hime's and as a thank you for her services, the Kaonyuki appointed Unohana the role as her new High Priestess.

And now there she sat, twelve years later, smiling proudly down at the girls dancing where she once had danced herself - as if she'd forgotten all about the girls that had bled and cried and died in the name of their service, as if she really believed that they should feel _privileged _to have the men between their thighs, drooling all over them.

Yes, Retsu Unohana was something very special, indeed…

"Are you enjoying the show, Mayuri?" She suddenly said and turned to him, those deep blue eyes glistening dangerously, abruptly dragging him out of his inner reverie.

This was just another interesting (and **scary**) trait she possessed – she always seemed to know what everyone around her was thinking, including him, at all times.

Suddenly feeling less certain of himself (_she always managed to scare the shit out of him_), he twisted his painted features into a pained grimace and turned away from her, not even bothering to answer.

From behind him, his servant and apprentice Nemu put her hand on his shoulder (_it was gentle and cool against the sweat soaked fabric of his shirt, and yet it sent a wave of discomfort rushing through his body_) and asked him if he was feeling alright…?

"Don't touch me, you imbecile!" He spat back vehemently, and she returned her hand to her side, seemingly unaffected by his words. "…And no, no I'm not alright. Can't you see that I'm thirsty? Go get me a glass of water! _**Now!**_"

"Yes master." Gracefully, she bowed her head and then continued to disappear down the high table, into the crowd.

"That's a lovely apprentice you have there, Mayuri. She seems very obedient." Unohana smiled at him, and Mayuri felt a vein in his forehead begin to throb at being spoken to once again.

Turning towards her slowly, he gave her his most chilling glare, but it seemed to have absolutely no effect on her at all – all she did was sit there, smiling innocently at him with those big, blue eyes of hers shining with patience, and before he knew it, he'd given up.

"Yes she's quite… quite _efficient._" He forced out and she gave him an appreciative nod.

"Talking about efficient, have you _seen _the newlyweds? Aren't they just perfect for each other? Such a charming couple, and they seem so happy together too!"

For half an insane second, Mayuri had absolutely no idea of whom or what it was that she was talking about. But then reality hit and before he could stop himself, he smiled.

_**Happy**_ together?

He shot one quick glance down to the very end of the High Table, where the little white haired, porcelain doll Hiyuki was situated next to her tall brute of a husband.

Nnoitra was sitting leaned forward with his elbows on the table, smiling and practically drooling all over himself while looking at the Hime currently dancing (_a tall, big breasted girl with short, silver colored tresses of hair and an almost shy expression on her face_) while Rukia was looking as uncomfortable next to him as if she was sitting on needles.

Letting out one, loud snort of amusement, Mayuri turned back to Unohana, silently marveling about how someone so intelligent could be also be so stupid.

"Oh yes, they're simply _**radiating **_with love…" He drawled back sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

In response, she let out a long, dreamy sigh that made the vein in Mayuri's forehead throb once again, put her hand over his (_and again, a wave of discomfort surged through his body_) and said: "Young love."

Trying not to gag, he pulled his hand away from hers and wiped it off on his pants.

"It seems that Isane's dancing number is finished now…" He heard her say, feeling another, but smaller, rush of disgust wash through him at the words. "…she's such a talent, don't you think? I was the one who recruited her to the Hime's. I just _knew _that she'd do wonderful among them!" (_And now she's kissing some stranger on the neck, letting him know that this night – she's his to do whatever he wants with. And her beauty will be spoiled, probably has been spoiled for years, as she splits her legs and allows the man to drool, to touch, to __**devour **__all of her beauty, all of her grace. __**She's just another filthy whore**_).

He didn't bother to raise his eyes to the scene; he'd seen it happen so many times by then that he already knew what would happen. He knew that she'd kiss the man and drag him up stage; he heard the audience cheer the man on and shout suggestions towards the pair and before his inner eye he saw them go through the silk curtains situated on the back of the stage and disappear between the thick fabric, into the doorway and into temple. Then she'd be replaced by another Hime, one with long, tanned legs and empty eyes (_they all looked the same_) and the charade would continue.

Suddenly feeling very, very tired; Mayuri raised his hand to his temple and tried to rub out the sound of Unohana's constant happy chattering ("This next girl is the Kaonyuki's personal favorite, and no wonder... She's an amazing dancer, and she's so beautiful too! I'm sure that even you will appreciate her, Mayuri") and the audience's wild cheers and applauds.

Just like the Priestess had said, a new Hime was entering the stage and this time, the crowd was going crazy with loud whistles and inappropriate suggestions, triggering his slowly growing migraine and making him wonder why the hell Nemu hadn't come back with his water already…?

On his left side, the Hiyuki high priest Byakuya (whom had been sitting silent and stiff as a block of ice throughout the entire festival day) suddenly gave out a small, barely audible gasp.

The sudden display of emotion from the usually indifferent man made Mayuri turn towards him with a curious frown; growing more and more amused as Byakuya's facial expression quickly developed from one of utter dread and misbelief into one of shock and… was that a blush?

So one of the Hime's had _**actually**_managed to make an impression on the ever so stoic "Byakuya-blue balls-Kuchiki"?

Migraine, water and annoying priestesses forgotten, he turned towards the stage and, as corny, irrational and illogical as it may sound;

_All _

_Time _

_**Stopped. **_

Long, dark legs.

Big, shining, golden eyes.

Curvaceous, fit body covered in slightly see-through yellow veils; long, dark hair falling freely down her back and red painted lips quirked up in a teasing, feline smirk – she was perfection personified, the very image of beauty and _**nothing **_like anything Mayuri had ever seen before in his entire life.

Filled with a strange, overwhelming feeling that he didn't quite recognize but that left his mind empty and his body tingling; he watched her dance.

She was as elegant and graceful as any noble lady he'd ever seen, and yet she was as playful and teasing as any woman (_because unlike so many other Hime's, she was a __**woman**__, not a girl_) in her position was expected to be; and even though her manner of dress could be considered quite skanky, she held a constant air of refinement and modesty in the way that she moved around the stage floor that none of the other Hime's possessed.

But what interested him the most, what made his heart race and his gaze cling as transfixed to her body, was her eyes (_they left him breathless_).

They were so intelligent, razor sharp and seemingly all seeing (_and they were beautiful. As soft as honey, as clear as lightning, as glistening as gold. __**So like his own, yet so different**__)_ and when she twirled around on naked, light feet across the dance floor and their eyes met, if only for a second, he felt a shiver run down his spine.

"She's lovely, isn't she?" He heard Unohana say, as if from some other world, but he couldn't find the wits to respond.

Suddenly, the tempo of the Hime's dance changed and she came towards him, slowly, teasingly; making the audience's cheer even louder and his pulse rise with it - when she suddenly and without warning raised her leg and placed her foot firmly on the high table before him.

Mayuri stared at it, utterly confused and unable to think of one single rational thing to do when suddenly Unohana nudged him at his side and whispered: "You're supposed to kiss it."

Flabbergasted and shocked, he stared from the foot, to the ever kindly smiling Unohana, to the smirking, dark skinned Hime in front of him (_as their eyes met, his mouth went dry and another set of shivers erupted all over his back_), until finally the information hit and he bent his face down towards the foot, if only to hide his rapidly rising blush.

While down there, the audience began to cheer even louder and he swallowed harshly. Fighting his growing feeling of shame (_they were laughing at him, he could hear it_), he took a hold of her wrist with trembling, gentle hands and breathed in her scent.

She smelled like sweat and salt and warmth and s_ummer, _just like he knew she would, and before he knew it he'd bent down completely and brushed his lips against her skin.

And just like that, she slipped away from him.

Lips still tingling and heart beating like crazy in his chest, Mayuri watched her continue her dance as gracefully as before, watched her feet move with the tempo of the people shouting and laughing and clapping their hands.

"What's her name?" He asked, breathlessly.

"Yoruichi." Byakuya answered.


	3. Dreaming

**AN: **- I'm not even going to apologize, this time… It doesn't feel very meaningful anymore. XD  
All I'm going to say is that that last chapter somehow drained all of my motivation (DAMN YOU MAYURI!) to write (and not just this story, I haven't been able to write ANYTHING all of my vacation D=), but then I met an old friend (thank you Annie, I love you! 3) and she gave me back all of my strength **and **motivation to continue this.

Hopefully, I'll be able to write the next chapter a lot easier (though once I regained my motivation, this chapter wasn't that difficult at all XD), and _**a lot **_faster.

**Warnings: **Some minor smut and some major swearing.

* * *

_Chapter 3. Dreaming_

Sometimes Rukia would dream of a house with a blue painted door.

There were cherry trees growing in the garden; filling the air with pink, soft flower petals with each gush of the wind all year round, and behind the house they kept a hoard of fluffy white bunnies in a ridiculously large cage.

In the dreams, Rukia would be wearing tattered clothes of wool instead of glistening gowns of silk; dirt on her hands instead of powder; a smile on her lips instead of the cold, emotionless expression her high priest, Byakuya, had taught her.

And every night she would crawl into her husband's arms (_his long, red hair tickling at her nose)_, and she'd be lulled to sleep by the sound of his light snoring; knowing that she was safe and _warm_ and _**happy**_, and that his child was growing in her womb.

And then she'd wake up with a smile on her face, only to realize that she wasn't in the house with the blue painted door – but in the temple, in her bedchamber, curled up not against Renji's warm, safe chest but Nnoitra's cold, bony back; and it _**killed her **_every time it happened. Piece by piece it was cutting itself into her soul; the realization that _**that **_life, the simple, peasant life Renji used to tell her all about when they were children (_when they were still allowed to talk_), the life in which the husband and the wife were supposed to _**love **_each other – that was a life she'd never have.

_**They'd **_taken that away from her.

Nnoitra would never love her; that much he'd made painstakingly clear.

Rukia would never love him either, she suspected – but at least she would try, because that was her duty, and she _**owed them **_that.

It was easier at night she decided, drawing a small circle over his naked back, making him mumble something softly in his sleep. At night time, she couldn't see his face (_his cruel mouth, as if made for spitting out insults; his one eye, shining with malice_), and he wouldn't speak.

Digging a little deeper into his skin with her fingertips, softening the tense muscles she felt hiding under it, he gave out a long, appreciative sigh that made her smile but pull away, afraid to wake him up.

"Don't stop."

She tensed, hands still hovering inches away from his skin.

"Are ya' fucking deaf or something?!" Nnoitra mumbled sleepily, turning around in the bed to look at her. His one violet eye was unfocused and his pupil was wide (_as if he was still struggling to wake up properly_), his long, yet black hair was laying in messy strands all over his side of the bed and the bags under his eye-sockets were dark and big enough to actually show on both sides of his face, sticking out under the eye-patch he wore at all times.

Looking like this (_angry, confused and very, very sleepy_) Rukia almost caught herself thinking that he was cute.

It was bizarre enough to make her smile.

"Stop grinning like an idiot and finish what'cha started, idiot!"

Okay, maybe not.

"I don't take orders from you, _**mate.**_"

"Yer my _**wife! **_Ya'll do whatever the hell I want'cha to do!"

"That's _**not **_how it works around here."

"In this room it is! Between the two of us it is!"  
"Oh, says who exactly?!"

"Says I! The **Husband!**"

"Oh please…"

"Shut up! Ya' started this, ya' can't just walk away in the middle of the job!"

"Like you did on our _**wedding night**_, you mean?"

There was a long pause in which Rukia suddenly discovered that they were both sitting up, Nnoitra's hands were clenched around the bed sheets tightly (_as if he were trying to strangle them_), her own right hand was placed on his chest (_feeling the fast, heavy pounding of his heart underneath her fingers_) and that, even though the room was dark, she could see a blush rising over his cheeks.

She pulled her hand away, feeling far too smug about herself to acknowledge that little voice whispering in the back of her head that _maybe she'd gone __**too far? **_

"What?" She teased, feeling another surge of pride at the way he turned his gaze away, quickly. "Cat caught your tongue? I honestly thought more of you, _**Nnoitra**_…" He jumped at the name (_she hadn't called him that since their wedding _night) and she slowly, carefully, (_as if not scare him_) placed her hand upon his inner thigh (_he always slept naked_) and let it travel upwards while silently marveling over her sudden boldness. "…I heard stories about you, you know…" she whispered huskily, looking into his one eye with heated, heavy lidded eyes. He gulped. She smiled. "…even before you came to the temple. _**The Praying Mantis **_they called you… tell me, what did you pray for?"

"I never…" he gulped again, and she could feel herself gravitating towards his lips at the same pace as her hand moved towards his cock. "…I never pray."

"They say that you were terrifying. A killing machine… Skilled, strong…" When she reached her hand around his erect member, he let out a long, shaky breath over her face that left her lips tingling. "…_**big.**_"

Slowly, devastatingly slowly (_she'd never done this before, didn't know how fast to go, how hard to hold_), she started to pump him, making his head roll back and a loud moan escape his lips. His grip on the bed sheets seemed to have gone impossibly harder - his knuckles were white and his hands were trembling.

"They say you slept with a thousand women and a thousand men, that you kept a Harem of one hundred slaves in your home and fucked all of them every night before falling to sleep…" Through the numerous moans of pleasures, she heard him chuckle at that, but when it looked like he was going to respond she only tightened her grip on his penis and pumped him harder, faster, making the words drown and disappear into a sudden outburst of breathless swears and trembling gasps. She wasn't done just yet. "…so why, my dearest husband, why…?" Raising herself up on her knees, she pressed herself towards Nnoitra's naked upper body, her hand still keeping its pace on his cock, took him by the back of his head and forced him to look down on her. His eye was cloudy from the pleasure and a rosy blush had spread itself across his cheeks, making her smile as she raised herself up a little higher and started planting butterfly kisses across his collarbone and his neckline. He moaned once again, almost directly into her ear this time, making an involuntary shiver run down her spine and some moist begin to form between her legs. Before she could stop him, Nnoitra had pulled away from her lips and down to her torso, taking one of her breasts in his hand and beginning to suck on it, through the fabric of the night gown.

The feeling made her knees wobble and a tiny little mewl of pleasure escape her lips. Before she knew what she was doing, she'd grabbed the back of his head and pulled his face closer to her chest, moaning breathlessly at the feeling of his tongue swirling around her nipple. She felt herself become completely wet and suddenly, all she wanted was to have him there, pressing a finger inside of her like he had last time, pumping his fingers into her like she was pumping his cock right now.  
Last time…

"Why won't you sleep with me?!" She suddenly demanded, pulling away from him and hiding her breasts behind the cover.

Nnoitra (_looking very much dazed were he sat, penis still erect and weeping slightly_) gave her a long, confused stare (_like he could barely see her at first, like he could see her __**all too well **__in the end_) until, finally, he answered intelligently: "Huh?"

"On… On our wedding night…" Rukia stammered, suddenly feeling a little stupid and uncomfortably exposed, even though Nnoitra was the one who was naked, not her. "…you wouldn't sleep with me. You… _**you called me a flat chested whore. **_Why?!"

He continued staring at her, until finally realization seemed to hit him and a vein started to throb in his forehead.  
"You're _**really **_gonna' bring that up _**now?!**_"

"I want to know!" She defended herself, the mere memory making her angrier by the second. "You shouldn't have done that, shouldn't have led me on like that! I'm a virgin yet I… I was ready to lay myself out for you and you just… you just…!"

"Alright, fuck this shit, you know what? Maybe if you hadn't brought this up _**you wouldn't have been a virgin anymore, right?! **_Fuck it, I was ready to pound you bloody! Now, instead, I'm gonna' wake up with a serious case of blue balls tomorrow and it will be _**all your fault. **_As a matter of fact, I don't think I'll ever even _**touch you **_again!"

"What?! You can't do that! I am the Hiyuki, daughter of…-"

"Daughter of Mother Wolf and bringer of Winter, I know, I KNOW ya've told me a THOUSAND TIMES…!"  
"But you don't understand!"

"I already told ya' I don't believe in that shit!"

"If you don't believe in it, then why the HELL did you marry me?!"

Immediately after the words had left Rukia's mouth, she regretted them.

Nnoitra's eye was wide and unbelieving, and there was something there, something shining through them that made Rukia want to hide under a rock somewhere.

"Ya' know what? I don't know. _**I don't fucking know.**_"

~D~

"So… how is your marriage going, Rukia?"  
(_**WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! I HATE HIM I HATE HIM I HATE HIM I HATE HIM!) **_

"It's... good. Actually, it's really good, Orihime." She smiled at the auburn headed Ameyuki, and the six months younger girl beamed right back at her.

Just like every Friday afternoon, the Beast Daughters were gathered down by their private Hot Spring, relishing in the heat of the water, the company of each other and, above all, the privacy (_being worshipped was really tiresome most of the time_).

Harribel, the Kaonyuki and daughter of summer, had been the first one there, like she always was. Neliel, the Hanayuki and daughter of spring, had been second, and Orihime, the Ameyuki and daughter of autumn, had been third.

Rukia had come last today, even though she usually came before both Neliel and Orihime, feeling tired and glum after a restless night of no sleep and _**a lot**_ of self-pity.

After their little… _argument, _Nnoitra had disappeared, probably to go jerk off somewhere where she couldn't see him; and Rukia had tried to go back to sleep, forget everything that had happened and wave it of as some strange, sad dream – only to sit up all throughout the rest of the night instead, worrying about her already decaying, one week long marriage.

The girls had given her some worried glances when she came late, but didn't make any remarks about it, for which Rukia was infinitely grateful.

"How is he? What's his name again, uhm… Nnoitra! What's he like? Is he treating you nicely? I heard he used to live in Hahaoya, in the capitol Kogane, working as a Gladiator in the best and biggest Gladiator Pits they had! He's so tall and he looks so scary!" Orihime asked her, hands waving in excitement, creating little splashes and waves in the pool that went all over the other Beast Daughters but that she didn't even seem to notice.

Oh yeah, right… Rukia should have expected this.

Suddenly, she remembered four years ago when Neliel had gotten married to that noble boy Uryuu Ishida, and how they'd overthrown her with questions about him the very second she'd sunk down into the waters of the hot spring one week later (_"Is he kind to you? How was your wedding night? He looks so pretty, are you sure he's not __**gay?!**_").

Neliel had smiled and giggled and blushed, talking about Uryuu as the perfect gentleman he was, how he was intelligent and gentle and polite, and how on their wedding night he had seemed almost as frightened as she was.

It made Rukia feel jealous to remember that, even though she knew that the Hanayuki and her mate had fallen apart quite dramatically during the years (_and that __**everyone **__in the temple had heard that rumor about him sleeping with one of Harribel's body guards, the silent giant named Sado_).

The thought of Nnoitra did _**not **_make Rukia want to smile and giggle and blush (_on the contrary, the thought of him made her feel slightly __**sick**__, though she still hadn't figured out if it were because she felt like a failure or if the thought of her mate simply repulsed her. Maybe a mixture of both?_).

"Rukiaaaaaaa?" Neliel was waving her hand in front of her face, pulling the Hiyuki out of her inner reverie, back into to the real world.  
Orihime was sitting in front of her with a worried little pout on her face, Neliel was patting her shoulder, laughing nervously, and something strange was gleaming through Harribel's sharp amethyst eyes.

"Sorry!" Rukia blushed. "I spaced out for a second. What was the question?"

"I asked you if Nnoitra is nice to you?"

"Yes, well…!" She forced out a smile. No one seemed convinced. "…he's very nice! He really… really _**cares**_ about me. He's just… he's been keeping me up at night, that's all, so I'm a little tired!" Laughing nervously, she didn't even notice the blushes that immediately rose over the cheeks of Orihime and Neliel, nor how her _**excuse**_ could be misunderstood.

"So… I take it that he's good in the sack?" Harribel leaned in towards her, a naughty smile on her lips, making Rukia's breath catch in her throat and a fierce blush spread across her entire body.

"W-w-w-wh-wh-why would you think that?!" She shrieked, and the others burst out laughing.

After they'd all calmed down some (_including Rukia; that had managed to get her blush __**and **__her furiously beating heart under control_), Neliel leaned her head down on Rukia's shoulder and sighed contently, making the smaller girl smile.

Right now, together with her friends, she felt more at peace then she had in weeks.

After they'd spent some ten minutes in comfortable silence, she didn't even hesitate when she finally raised her voice and admitted: "We're having some trouble."

Immediately, all three of the other Beast Daughters stirred and raised their heads to look at her, making Rukia hang her own to avoid their gazes, feeling nervous again.

"We know." Harribel suddenly stated matter of factly, making Rukia look at her in surprise.

"How?"

"Honey please…" Neliel smiled kindly, placing her hand were her head had rested. "…just look at you. You're a complete mess!"

"And let's face it…" Orihime leaned in towards her, whispering heatedly: "…He's _**scary!**_"

"Don't worry about it, though." Harribel smiled. "We'll help you."

~D~

That night Nnoitra entered the bedchamber angry and hungry and _**desperately tired, **_his entire body aching from walking around the enormous temple grounds sulking for half a night and an entire day.

He'd ignored the silent glares sent to him by his wife's bodyguards (_they hated him, all of them, he knew. Especially that little albino cunt Shiro_), but now that he scanned the bedroom he couldn't see their precious little Hiyuki anywhere.

This made him frown slightly (_she had to be there, why else would her bodyguards be outside?_), but then again, it was a large chamber with many other, smaller rooms connected to it, and she may very well be hiding in one of those to get away from him.

The thought made him even angrier then he already was, though he wasn't sure why, and he felt a sudden urge to _**smash **_something – _**anything**_! But then again, that would just bring the bitch out, and he didn't feel like arguing with her tonight… he just felt like sleeping.

Pulling the clothes off of him, he laid down on the big, empty double bed and closed his eyes.

Just as it seemed that he was drifting off, however, _**she **_sat down on the bed next to him.

Suddenly all too awake, he stiffened were he lay. He could feel her eyes on his back, and the sudden thought that she must think that he was asleep made a strange knot form in his gut. She was… watching him sleeping?

What was she thinking?

"I know you're awake."

…oh.

"You…" she stammered. "…you don't have to move. Actually, don't!"

Nnoitra frowned a little, but saw no reason _**not**_ to obey.

He really didn't feel like moving anyway.

Then her hands were on his back, softly traveling their way up his spine, rubbing at his aching muscles and working up the knots of tension under his skin, making him shiver.

"Just… let me take care of you for a while… please?"

He let her.

He let her until finally, he fell asleep with her hands still whispering over his back, and he dreamed that he might actually learn to like her after all.


	4. Disappointment

**AN: **I'm ALIVE!

**Warnings: **Nnoitra's potty mouth. Some violence, ruffled hair, unbeta'd writing

* * *

"I've made lemon biscuits!" Ukitake cheered, entering through the gate of the Hiyuki gardens with a huge smile on his lips and a tray of steaming hot cookies in hand.

Nnoitra sighed.

He'd been married to her royal pain in the ass Hiyuki for just barely two and a half weeks now, and apparently, that meant that he was forced to _socialize _with the people she socialized with; people he didn't fucking like and whom made it painstakingly clear that they didn't fucking like him either.

People such as that albino cunt Shiro, or that emo midget Toushiro, creepy faced Gin, mother hen Ukitake and that chick, that ginger chick over there with the huge tits sitting next to his wife drinking tea, making Rukia laugh and smile and talk in ways Nnoitra had never seen her do before; that chick that apparently was supposed to be her royal second pain in the ass Ameyuki, daughter of Autumn.

Of course, he'd seen her before.

At the festivals, in the gardens, sometimes passing her and her gathering of autumn colored themed household by in some hallway; he'd seen all the Beast Daughters, and sometimes wondered why he was stuck with the only one without boobs bigger than their heads, or, for that matter, some _female _(or some open minded males, he wasn't picky) servants that he could play with whenever Rukia became too… _**frustrating. **_

"Nnoitra-sama?" Ukitake questioned, pulling him back into reality. "Would you like a biscuit? I made them myself! They're the Hiyuki's favorites." The white haired, older male smiled proudly, showing the tray of newly baked goods underneath Nnoitra's nostrils.

"Don't just go pushing stuff into my face, ya' idiot! That's fucking rude!" He swore, and pushed the cookies away, ignoring the way his nostrils flared and his stomach stirred at their delicious smell. "I don't want yer damn biscuits!"

"Alright…" the man looked just like a rejected puppy, with big sad eyes and a pouting lower lip. "…forgive me, Nnoitra-sama."

He gave him a quick bow, and then continued over to the girls table. They accepted the cookies with big happy smiles and polite small talk that brought that loving look right back into the older servant's face.

_**Almost **_feeling a little guilty over hurting Ukitake, and some stupid jealousy over the way the Beast daughters got to devour the cookies while he was still hungry (_stupid pride, why did he have to do that?! Stupid, stupid, __**stupid!**_), he watched them interact, watched Rukia's eyes tingle with delight every time Orihime turned to talk with her, watched her laugh together with them and give Gin a teasing jab to the ribs that had him double over in pain (_still smiling though_) when he came over to ruffle her hair, and suddenly Nnoitra felt desperately, _**desperately **_lonely.

"So? Did ya' fuck her yet?" Shiro sat down in the chair in front of him (_fuck_), blocking his view of his wife and her guests, shooting him a big, lecherous smile.

"You're being rude, Shiro." Toushiro came down to sit in the chair on Nnoitra's left (_double fuck_), giving his fellow guard a tired glare. "That's your Hiyuki you're talking about, and this is her mate. Their love life is none of our business."

"What would ya' know of that?! How old are ya anyway, twelve?!" Shiro spat back.

Toushiro blushed crimson. Obviously, this was a sore spot.  
The beginning of a smile began to form on Nnoitra's face. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad, after all…

"I'm fifteen, and you know it you big pervert!"

"Well perhaps if you weren't so short, people would stop thinking that ya' need teddy to fall asleep!"

"I don't _**need **_teddy to fall asleep, I just… _**I appreciate his company!**_"

"Ooooh, poor little Toushiro, afraid of the dark are we?" Shiro cooed, ruffling the younger male's spiky locks of hair, obviously enjoying the sight of the throbbing vein in his forehead.

"Anyone would be scared to sleep with _**you **_in the same room, Shiro! If it weren't for your constant snoring telling me that you're asleep, I'd be so scared of being molested in some way or another that, instead of teddy, I'd be sleeping with a knife!"

"I do _**not **_snore!"

"You do too! _**And **_you talk in your sleep!"

"I don't!"

"Yes you do! And it's creeping everyone out! You keep mumbling stuff about Rukia and-"

"Wait… he does _**what?!**_"

The silence was deafening.

If it weren't for the continued polite chattering coming from the other table and the chirping of birds from the trees, Nnoitra felt like he would drown in it.

A dangerous cool had swept its way all throughout the tall man's body at the mentioning of his wife's name, a searing tension that made him unconsciously clench his hands into tight fists and his limbs feel like if they were wired to a string, just waiting to come undone.

His eyes were fixed on Shiro's, that was staring back at him with an equally dangerous, slightly rebellious look in his eyes.

On his left, Toushiro was sitting completely forgotten, shifting uncomfortably in his chair as he prayed silently to the Four Beast Goddesses that they let his mistake slip, that this wouldn't progress into something _**violent. **_

"What's yer relationship with Rukia, anyway?" Nnoitra finally managed to ask, voice low and laced with unspoken threats.

"Don't ya know?" Shiro answered, just as dangerously. "She really doesn't tell you anything does she, shows just about how much she cares for ya'…."

"_**What?!**_"

Shiro smirked, making Nnoitra want to bring his hands around his neck and _**squeeze. **_

"We were going to be married."

The words felt just like a slap.  
All at once, his body relaxed, he fell back more deeply into his chair and his mind began to spin slightly as he tried to process this new information.

"If yer sorry piece of ass hadn't come along and made the council change their minds,_** I**_ would have been the one married to Rukia-chan now." Shiro stated matter of factly, breaking his staring contest with Nnoitra by bringing his hand up to study his nails in a bored fashion. "The planning had been going on for years, but then ya' came along and ruined everything. And now ya' can't even get yer cock up for a few seconds to impregnate her like yer supposed to! No wonder why she hates you…"

Everything after that happened so quickly, no one could really tell who'd thrown the first punch.  
The table, complete with tablecloth and tea set, flew to the ground; Toushiro sprinted from his position on the chair; and Nnoitra and Shiro were over each other like a pair of rabid dogs, punching and clawing and snarling at each other as they fought, rolling around on the ground, both struggling desperately for dominance.

Then, barely seconds after the wrestling match begun, the rest of the household was over them – Ukitake and Toushiro pulling the loudly cursing Shiro away from the tangle of Nnoitra's limbs, the surprisingly strong Gin pulling Nnoitra.

"Ya' don't deserve her, ya' fucking asshole!" Shiro spat, still struggling against his friend's arms, making Nnoitra growl dangerously and start struggling as well, wanting with every fiber of his body to _**squash that annoying little piece of shit **_like the ant he was.

Gin simply chuckled and secured his grip on him.  
"Easy there, boy, ya' wouldn't want to embarrass yerself even more in front of the lil' misses, now would ya?"

The words made his head clear up a little, and he turned his gaze from Shiro to Rukia, that was standing by the tables with Orihime, petting the taller girls shoulder protectively while sullenly looking over the mess they'd created.

As their eyes finally crossed, he saw a quick shot of worry pass through her eyes, making that strange s_omething _that he'd felt at their wedding night stir in his chest once again – only this time it was stronger and warmer, more _victorious. _

She began to move towards him, and he licked at his lower lip nervously only to realize that it was cracked and oozing blood. At this little discovery, he pulled himself away from Gin's arms (that obviously felt like the danger of him trying to rip Shiro's throat out was over by now and let him go without a struggle) and inspected himself and his injuries.

They weren't much; except for his injured lip and some minor damages to his clothes, he suffered from ruffled hair, a couple of scratch marks over his neck (_fucking cunt, fights like a girl…_) and some yellowing beginnings of bruises over his legs, wrists and one on his right cheek.

After this brief examination, he straightened out his shirt, trying halfheartedly to get the worst of the dirt off of it, while turning his gaze back to his oncoming wife, feeling strangely nervous.

As she came closer and closer, ice in her eyes, several scenarios of what she was about to do passed Nnoitra's mind (_she'd take his face in between her hands and caress his cheeks, asking him if he was alright; she'd walk up to him and inspect his injuries, while thanking him for protecting her honor against Shiro's stupid fucking they-sure-as-hell-__**has**__-to-be __**lies**__; or, more likely, she'd go into another bitchy rant where she nagged his ears off about being able to defend herself and not shaming her royal pain in the ass Hiyuki title. But then, later that night, she might just let him hog that extra pillow they're always fighting about without complaint, and he'd take it as the thank you that it was_).

Of course, simply because Universe is a fucking bitch, she chose to do none of that.

Instead, as she walked to Nnoitra (_his pulse was racing irrationally, his breath was held back, that __**feeling **__in his chest was so hot it felt like he'd explode; he was her knight in shining armor, he'd defended her, defended __**them **__against a threat to their relationship, and he wanted his acknowledgement_), as their bodies aligned and their arms brushed, she broke off her gaze and continued walking without so much as a word to go and sit down next to Shiro, inspecting his injuries.

Practically frozen in place, that warm fuzzy feeling twisted and coiled, evolving into something _**burning **_and sharp, a malformed deviation of what once was (_dare he say it?_) loving, and proud.

Seething from jealousy and betrayal, he slowly turned around to look at his wife and his enemy.

They were sitting huddled together so closely, whispering things into each other's breaths so low and so _intimate _that Nnoitra couldn't possibly make out a single syllable. Ukitake and Toushiro were crouched over them, adding things to the conversation every once and again, but mainly it was just Shiro and Rukia talking, so close and so dangerous.

As Rukia turned her head upwards to talk more properly with Toushiro, Shiro caught sight of Nnoitra's staring and flashed him a vicious, victorious smirk.

He couldn't take it anymore.

He bowed his head down and began to make it for the gates, wanting with every fiber of his body to just _**run**_, disappear into some hole somewhere where he could dream about the good days, the days of the sand and the blood and of Tesla, dear fucking _**GOD **_he missed Tesla!

But then again, life just never quite plays out the way you want it too, right?

"Nnoitra…" She stopped him in his tracks, just as he was about to pass them by. He didn't know why he stopped. Perhaps he wanted her to apologize? To ask him if he'd been hurt? To tell him that _they'd be alright_, even though they'd never fucking been to begin with, even though their marriage was and never would be anything but one big joke. She turned to him, her big dark eyes shining, and she was so beautiful just then, in that precise moment, that it _**hurt. **_"…I'm disappointed in you."

He left.

~D~

"I would like to make a deal, Nnoitra."

He wasn't sure how he'd gotten into this situation.

Trying to blow off some steam, he'd aimlessly been wandering the temple grounds, cursing and threatening anyone foolish enough to consciously or unconsciously disturb him, so busy feeling sorry for himself and thinking of ways to _**murder**_ Shiro that he'd managed to get himself lost.

Trying to find his way back, he somehow "happened" (_by struggling through some bushes, squeezing his way through a tight passage and, finally, using his long limbs to push himself over the wall_) to run straight into the Hanayuki private gardens _**without**_ confronting any of her guards – a huge security breach which he swore right then and there on the spot he'd never tell another living soul about.

Making his way over the wall and plunging down on the ground below, dirty, frustrated and reeking from a day of sweating in the summer heat, he raised his head from the grass and found himself looking at a woman, sitting underneath a cherry tree on a stone bench reading a book.

As he stood up and made towards her, her only response was to put down her book, raise one delicate, questioning eyebrow towards him, and _smile. _

"You're Rukia's husband." She stated matter of factly as he reached her.

"You're the Hanayuki." He responded in kind.

Her smile broadened, and she stood up to shake his hand.

"Please..." she told him, as they shook timidly. "…call me Neliel."

He smiled back.

"_I would like to make a deal, Nnoitra~"_


	5. Jackie

**AN:** Yay! A new chapter! =D  
This has to be some kind of a new record, doesn't it? O.O

Anyway, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm going to introduce a new main character again

Yeah. You better get used to that. Because even though the main focus is on Rukia and Nnoitra, these guys and their stories are all essential to plot as well.

Sorry. XD

**Warnings: **Actually, this chapter is pretty kid safe. I know, it scares me too! O.O

* * *

**_5. Jackie_**

She was supposed to be on the stage soon.

In the spotlight, surrounded by men who wanted her, women who envied her, and her sisters that supported her, loved her.

But she wasn't going to.

And that was just as well, Jackie thought sullenly as she pressed herself tighter against the kitchen wall, trying to blend in with the shadows as best as she could.

She only ended up making a fool of herself every time anyway.

And then those wanting looks from the men would turn into sneers, the envious ones from the women would turn to glee, and her sisters would be ashamed and burdened once more by her clumsiness.

No, she sighed and rubbed her temples.

No, she was better off in the kitchen, where she wasn't in anyone's way (the staff were running backwards and forwards, carrying trays with everything from dirty dishes, to steaming hot main courses, to mouthwatering desserts – they were so busy, they probably didn't even realize that she was there) and wouldn't disappoint anyone.

Besides; Lisa, the kitchen chief of staff, knowing how much she hated dancing at the summer festivals, had given her permission to hide around on her grounds, as long as she stayed hidden and didn't breathe too deep, in case (and she quote) her boobs would accidentally brush against someone's arm, distracting them into dropping their stuff, pushing someone into an oven and setting fire to the entire temple.

Jackie tried to keep her breast's under control after that, not because she was afraid that something like that might actually happen, but because Lisa was scary and wouldn't stop staring at them, even when shouting out commands to her employees from the bottom of her lungs from the other side of the immensely crowded room.

"Hello there, cutie-chan~" someone sang into her ear, making her jump completely out of her skin and _**punch**_ that stupid ass mouth guilty of charge into its accompanying stupid ass face.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!" Ganju sat whimpering on the ground, rubbing at his poor molested jaw. "What'cha did that for, Jackie-chan?" He whined, making her smile despite herself.

"You only have yourself to blame, sneaking up on me like _**that**_."

"Hehe, so you admit it? I _**did **_manage to scare you this time, eh?"

"Yeah well, it didn't have so much to do with your "stealth skills" as it had to do with you calling me cute. What's up with that?"

"You hit me for calling you cute?" He pouted.

"Yup." She smirked right back, not regretting a thing.

"Ganju-san!" Hanatarou suddenly screamed from the other side of the room, dropping his mop (used for uselessly cleaning the floor, over and over again, since everyone just kept running in and out all the time, bringing new dirt into the place) to run to Ganju's side, dropping to his knees and fussing all over him.

"Are you alright? Did she hit you hard? Do you think you have a concussion, how many fingers am I holding up?!"

"_He's _the only one you're allowed to call cute." Jackie smiled, making the thicker man shoot her a deadly glare even as Hanatarou was (for some, unexplainable reason) checking his forehead for a fever.

"YOU TWO!"  
Oh shit.

Lisa had finally torn her gaze _away_ from Jackie's chest, onto her two employees (_slaves_).

"Get you're act together and GET SOME WORK DONE! I'll have no slackers in my kitchen during Festival Time!"

At once, they were up and running.

"Yes, Lisa-sama!"

"S-sorry, Lisa-sama!"

"Jackie…" Ganju said, just before he slank off, back into the organized chaos once again. "…you really shouldn't be here. They'll miss you-"

"No." She interrupted sullenly. "No, they won't."

He shot her a sad look, but she simply turned her face away to pout childishly.

When she looked back up again, he was gone.

Feeling slightly relieved at having been left alone without an argument, she sighed and melted right back into the shadows once again, happy to just be left alone to think and watch everyone else work around her.

"Hey, you!"

She shot straight back up from the wall again, thinking that she'd been caught by one of Kaonyuki's guards, or, worse, the Kaonyuki herself and preparing to make a run for it – only to realize that she'd never seen the man standing by the doorway before in her entire life.

Was he even talking to her?

He was ridiculously handsome; with tribal tattoos covering his forehead like malformed eyebrows, slithering down his neck, arms and underneath his shirt (_making her wonder just how __**low **__they went_), smoldering brown eyes and a shocking mass of long, red hair tied back into a ponytail – the color a sure tell sign of a member of the Ameyuki household.

Now why would someone like _**that **_be talking with _her? _

She raised two questioning eyebrows at him, to which he rolled his eyes and heaved one, dramatic sigh.

"Yes you! Come here, I need your help with something!"

Filled with doubt, she slowly made her way to him (_making sure to keep as far out of anyone's way as possible_), curiosity driving her steps even as suspicion was building steadily inside of her (_what if the Ameyuki had sent him out to look for her to help her mistress? What if he was in league with her sisters? Did he know who she was? There was a big possibility that he did. Her household was big, but she kind of stood out from the rest of the girls by being so unattractive and clumsy on stage. She'd already made a fool out of herself a number of times during the festivals, just this summer, and all the members of the different households were required to watch the festivities. He __**had **__to know who she was!_).

These thoughts in mind, she stopped to face the Ameyuki servant far enough so that, if he'd by any chance suddenly jump out and try to capture her, she'd be able to make a run for it.

"What? What is it?" She questioned rudely, making him frown down at her.

"You know what? You really shouldn't be talking that way to your superior, kitchen girl!"

_**Superior?! **_

She was just about to open her mouth to tell him just where he could shove his words of superiority (_ugly or not, she was one of the Kaonyuki's specially chosen Hime's, and she would __**not **__be talked down to!_), when suddenly, the rest of what he'd said connected, and all anger left her.

Kitchen girl…?

The beginning of a bitter smile started to tug on her lips.

Oh, if only~

"What can I do for you, sir?" She decided to play along, and bowed her head down obediently.

She could practically feel the satisfied smile radiating off of the red head.

It felt strange, acting so inferior, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant.

"I need your help fetching a barrel of wine. And it has to be the best one you have! This is the Ameyuki and her household you'll be providing the drinks for…" Like she hadn't already figured that out. Seriously, this guy was just _way too smug! _Who did he think he was anyway, practically anyone with the right looks could join a household! (_Only that wasn't entirely true, and she knew it. There were numerous tests of character performed upon the ones lucky enough to even come into consideration, never to mention the training, nor the fact that the Beast Daughter herself had to approve of the servant before being appointed. Jackie simply chose to forget that for the moment_). "… simple, peasant wine will not be tolerated."

Forcing herself to smile, she looked up from the floor, into the servant's eyes, and nodded.

"Follow me then, sir."

Straightening herself, she made it for the backdoor on the other side of the room that she knew would lead her down to the wine cellar, feeling Lisa's gaze upon her the entire way, the red head following her just a few steps behind.

Together, they went through the thick cellar door (_immediately being swallowed by a cool breeze that made the hair on the back of Jackie's neck rise_)and began the decent down the broad, stone stairs, down into the muted darkness, Jackie's mind swimming with _what exactly it was that she was doing, _the red head seemingly intent on staring a hole into the back of her head.

He'd mistaken her for a kitchen maid…

Really, it wasn't that much of a wonder, when she thought about it – she certainly looked the part!

Dressed in her regular clothes; an old, worn, dirty pale cotton dress that reached just past her knees over a white shirt and no shoes (_at the moment of dressing, she'd figured that it would be harder to sneak out with them, as she was able to walk more carefully with naked feet; but now, when on the cold cellar floor, she kind of missed them_) - she blended right into the kitchen staff!

As they reached the end of the stairs, Jackie took a lantern from the wall and began to lead them through the suffocating darkness.

Passing by hundreds upon hundreds of barrels of wine in different sizes, all in silence except for the sound of their own footsteps and Jackie's heartbeat drumming in her ears, she suddenly noticed that the red head had begun to walk closer to her, obviously feeling un eased.

"So…" he suddenly spoke nervously, breaking the silence. "…is it… is it still far away? Why can't we just take one of these barrels?"

"Because…" she responded smartly, feeling a smile tug at the corner of her lips. "…these are all simple, peasant wine, sir. The good barrels are kept further in."

"Obviously…" he muttered darkly, making her smile fully.

They continued in silence for a couple of minutes after that, until, finally, he seemed to have grown tired of it.  
"So, what were you doing over there by the wall, all by yourself, anyway?" He asked her, making her feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Normally, I'd just figure that it was your own business and leave you alone, and I was really lucky that you w_eren't _doing anything, because otherwise, it would have been one hell of a pain in the ass trying to get someone to come down here with me, you know…?" he said as she led him down another set of winding stairs, even further down into the darkness, that seemed to cling to them like ink by the time they reached the bottom, despite the lantern. "…it just…" he stuttered, obviously unnerved. "…it doesn't seem like the right time to take a break? The festivals start in half an hour, aren't you guys supposed to be pretty busy-"

"We're here." She interrupted, stopping to a halt in front of a huge barrel, twice her height and thrice her width. It must weigh half a ton.

"Ehm…" he stuttered. "We're not supposed to lift that entire thing up all those stairs, are we? I don't think the Ameyuki wants to drink that much…"

"Don't be an idiot." She said, momentarily forgetting herself. "We're going to take a smaller barrel, fill it with the wine from this one and then carry that one back up!"

"Oh. That makes sense."

"Yup." She smiled, and put the burning lantern in one of the hoisters on the wall, before going to one of the many shelves and taking a smaller, empty barrel out of it.

It was old and dusty; no one seemed to have been this far down into the cellar for a very long time, and beneath it she found a small, black book.

Immediately, her thoughts went to Lisa, that was always spreading her pornographic novels all over the place, and she picked it up curiously.

"Hey, do you need some help over there?"

"No!" She quickly hid the book in the deep pockets of her shirt, ashamed for reasons she couldn't really grasp.

Then she took the barrel and hurriedly stumbled back to his side, putting it down and preparing to fill it when he suddenly put his hand on her shoulder, making her jump slightly.

"Hey, are you alright? You seem flustered…"

"I'm fine!" She shot him a huge, false smile, trying to will her blush down forcefully, to which he raised one questioning eyebrow.  
"You sure?"

"Yup!"

"Alright…"

She shrugged his hand off and turned the tap on the bigger wine barrel, making the red liquid fall down into the smaller one, and concentrated on her task as she still felt his eyes burn into the crook of her neck.

When finished, she screwed the tap off and lifted the small, now full wooden barrel with all of her strength up into her arms.

"Do you need some help with that?" The red head questioned, making her shake her head determinedly, even though her legs where wobbling dangerously.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"Alright…"

He took the lantern from the holster, and together they began to make it up the stairs again, only this time he was the one leading.

By the time they were up, she was panting heavily and her limbs felt like spaghetti, yet she still refused to let him help her.

"Hey, something just hit me…!" he suddenly commented, sounding strangely shy all of a sudden. The change of tone made her curious, and when he stopped to turn and look at her, she found herself following suit, lost in those deep brown eyes of his. He smiled sheepishly, and she felt her heart skip a beat. "…I have no idea what your name is."

They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity after that, staring into each other's eyes in the dim light, the man's eyes soft and warm, Jackie's doubting and insecure.

She opened her mouth.

"Jackie?"

She froze. He frowned, and turned around.

"Jackie! There you are!" Another light became visible in the cellar, quickly growing as the figure of the Kaonyuki herself approached.

In her horror, Jackie's trembling arms finally gave up on her and she dropped the barrel of vine to the floor, making it break into a thousand pieces around her feet and the alcoholic liquid splash all over the place.

Everything became silent.

Jackie didn't know what to do; she stared in horror from the Kaonyuki, to the broken barrel, to the very much confused Ameyuki servant – her mind screaming at her to make a run for it, but her entire body staying immobile.

"For heaven's sake, Jackie!" Harribel suddenly exclaimed, chocking the other two back into reality (_it was rare to see her so riled up about something_). At once, the male was on his knees in a deep bow, soaking his pants with the spilled wine, and Jackie gave him a quick look over before she sighed deeply in defeat and made it towards her mistress. Immediately as she reached her side, the two began to walk back through the darkness. "You're going to be up on stage in forty-five minutes, do you know that, Jackie?"

"Yes, Kaonyuki-sama…"

"Then what are you doing down here? Look at the mess you've made out of yourself, now you have to take a bath…"

"Forgive me, Kaonyuki-sama."

The Beast Daughter gave a deep sigh, making Jackie feel more than a little guilty.

"I'll scrub you clean myself. You have to look good for the festival, and I won't have you running away again…" she shot the younger woman a tired smile. "…I swear to the mothers, you're even worse than my children."


	6. Fire and Lightning

**AN:**

First of all: Nope! No Rukia or Nnoitra this chapter either! Sorry (I hope the smut makes it up to you, though XD)! I do promise you, however, that they _**will **_be the center of the next one soooooo… stay with me, guys! XD

Second: This was REALLY hard for me to write for some reason O.o  
I wrote the first part weeks ago, thought it sucked, started writing other stuff for a while, and then went back tonight only to realize that I liked it anyway and should continue. =P

Third: THANK YOU for all of your wonderful reviews and continued support, even though I know that the last chapter wasn't exactly the best I ever written!  
They make my day, and keep pushing me to continue and better this story.  
I love you all.

**Warnings: **Mayuri. Minor smut. Mayuri AND minor smut!

_6. Fire and Lightning_

She was spinning.

Round, round and round she went, the yellow silk flying in the air like flames of fire around her curvaceous, dark skinned body; making Mayuri lean forward to rest his chin against the back of his hands and smile.

Never before had he seen such a stunning creature, never before had he even believed that something so captivatingly _perfect _could exist in the shape of a human body (_blood, organs, muscles and some skin tissue to keep it all patched together_) –never had he thought that he'd be interested in a human being outside of his lab table, never thought he'd lust for one without the intent to cut them open and explore their insides (_an innocent hobby of his_).

No, he thought as she suddenly shot up through the air, quick and agile as a cat, made a full body 360 degree spin and landed firmly on her feet, grinning from ear to ear as the audience hooted and cheered.

No, this was no ordinary human being, no simpleton homosapiens – this was graze and agility, fire and lightning embodied.

Yoruichi, her name was.

Yoruichi.

She pulled the hands from her sides and began to spin again, slower this time, with carful, calculated steps that made use of the entirety of her long, tanned legs, at the same time as she let out her mane of dark hair from the pony tail playfully.

"Unohana-san…" Mayuri suddenly said, making sure to be polite for once even as his eyes never left the woman on stage. "…would you tell me how all of this… _works?_"

Immediately, he could feel the two priest's on his sides turn their eyes on him, Retsu's curious, Byakuya's threatening, both equally surprised.

"_Works_, Mayuri?" She chirped back, sounding all too amused for Mayuri's liking. He managed to stop himself from cringing in his seat by keeping his eyes set on Yoruichi; reminding himself that whatever humiliations he may be forced to withstand now by the hands of _this _woman, would definitely be worth the reward later given to him by the hands of _that _woman. "Now this is all very unexpected; don't tell me that you're interested in participating in the fertility ritual?"

"I am, and I will." He responded, trying his hardest not to break his cool exterior even as he felt Byakuya's hot glare on him, challenging him to proceed.

As he watched Yoruichi dance, he thought about what the black haired Hiyuki priest had told him once the last festival was over, how he'd commented on Mayuri's new _interest _in the dark skinned Hime, told him that it was inappropriate and politely asked him to stop.

Now Mayuri wasn't entirely sure what in the bloody hell his colleague's problem was, but whatever it was it had backfired completely – only leaving him _**more **_interested in the girl (_because anyone who could make "Mr. Holier than thou"-Byakuya act like a clingy, jealous teenage boyfriend had got to be a very, __**very **__special lady_) and ultimately leading him into making this decision.

The decision that tonight, Yoruichi would be _**his**_, and his alone.

"How wonderful!" He heard Unohana clap her hands together in delight, still refusing to look at either of his table companions. "I knew that you'd change your mind about the summer festivals sooner or later! Yoruichi is such a wonderful woman, no man could ever ask for a better first."

"First?"

"Well… you _are _a virgin, are you not?"

He flushed darkly, and finally tore his eyes from the dancing woman to look at the priestess, that was smiling innocently at him.

"I fail to see how that is relevant!" He finally managed to spit, making her chuckle under her breath.

"Forgive me, Mayuri. I did not mean any offence."

"But a virgin to lay with an experienced Hime…?" Byakuya interfered, lips turned upwards into a small smirk. "…are you sure that's wise, Unohana-san? What if he… _disappoints_?"

Despite himself, he felt a sudden surge of dread wash over him.

Damn it, he knew that the other man was toying with him, trying to make him change his mind – yet the words rang so true with his own doubts (_what if she expected things of him?! Positions or kisses that he did not know how to perform?! What if she didn't like his makeup, if she demanded he take it off, what if she found him ugly or repulsing, what if she __**laughed **__at him?!_) that they stung painfully.

"Young virgin males are often given to the Himes to take their innocence. It is considered an honor! A boy that becomes a man between the legs of a Hime becomes blessed by Mother Lamb with not only skill in bed, but also fertility for the rest of his life!"

"_Boys_, yes. I am sure that she's used to having to explain the basics of what to put where to twelve year olds, but a grown man of thirty three?"

"It does not matter. During most of the rituals, the males are not required to do anything but enjoy the ride anyway." He blushed at the mental images, and looked away.

A flash of gold immediately clashed with his eyes, sending a shot of electricity down his spine, and suddenly his mind was swimming with images of _**her**_(_naked in his lap, dark legs pulling him closer, one hand buried in shaggy blue hair and the other scratching painful, bloody trails down his back as she kissed his lips and she was __**his**__, only his_). She smirked at him, as if she knew exactly what it was that was going through his mind and _**liked it **_(_whores. They're all whores, remember that, __**remember that!**_) when suddenly he realized that he was desperately, _**desperately**_hard and put one of his legs over the other to conceal it awkwardly, practically burning from the shame.

"If you want her…" Unohana suddenly whispered in his ear, making him stiffen slightly. "…all you need to do is wink."

He turned to her in disbelief.

"Wink?!"

"That's right." She smiled sweetly.

He resisted the urge to groan.

Turning back towards the stage, he watched Yoruichi dance; a strange, heavy feeling forming in his gut as he realized that _she hadn't stopped looking at him_, even for a second, since his embarrassing conversation about his virginity with the other priests had ended.

The thought that she might have heard them hit him like a ton of bricks and made another blazing blush erupt all over his body, but that was _**impossible – **_the crowd was too loud, she was busy dancing, she couldn't _possibly___have!

Her eyes left his for half a second (_enough to make him realize that he'd been holding his breath, and take a large gulp of air like that of a drowning man – perhaps that is what he was? Perhaps he was drowning in her presence, her graze, her __**perfection**__, not enough to kill him but more than enough to turn him mad_), she twisted on the dance floor and then she was going straight for him, looking every inch like a stalking, feline predator as the silk whisked around her body and her tongue lapped out to lick some sweat from her bottom lip.

As she approached him, he felt another wave of panic wash over him, and he struggled desperately to make his body do something, _**anything! **_

Everyone was watching them, _**again, **_he couldn't make a fool out of himself, not now, why had the damned woman have to be so interested in him all of a sudden?!

"Mayuri-sama…" he heard Nemu mumble from behind him, sounding very, very small.

The sound startled him a little, his aid hadn't said a word all day, now seemed a most inappropriate time – but then Yoruichi had reached the table, and before he knew it he'd been pulled up by the front of his robes forcefully to stand and face her.

As his nose came to hover a couple of inches away from hers; Nemu, his fellow priests, the entire _**audience **_vanished from his mind, and all he could focus on was her soft breath on his lips, the smirk on hers and the gold in her eyes, warm and soft like honey.

"Mayuri-sama. Would you do me the honor and spend the night with me?" She asked him, loud enough for the entire temple to hear (_or at least so it seemed_), laughter in her voice.

He couldn't have cared less if the Goddesses themselves had been there to judge him.

Speechless, he gave her a twitchy, awkward wink, to which she laughed and made him crawl over the table, stand, walk across the stage and, finally, disappear in between the thick drapes that framed the entrance to the Kaonyuki household courters with her.

He would be _**hers**_ tonight.

~FL~

"You look tense, Mayuri-sama. Isn't it comfortable?"

The high priest blushed and licked at his dry lips.

"Fine like this."

"Don't you like the taste? I hope it's not too hot for you."

"I-it's fine."

Slowly, a knowing, sly smirk grew across Yoruichi's features, making Mayuri shift uncomfortable in his seat as she flexed her shoulders, pushing her chest out as she did so, and gave him a good look at her breasts (_dark, erect nipples scraping fabric_) through the see-through veils.

Watching her bosom, he found himself imagining those (_perfect_) breasts in his mouth, imagined himself swirling his tongue around her nipples and biting down into her flesh until she screamed and cried and begged for more, _more, __**more! **_

The mental images made his already painfully erect penis twitch, and he had to bite down on his tongue to fight back the groan struggling to come out.

Suddenly, he realized with a start that he was staring, blushed even redder than before and gulped down the remains of his tea for distraction as he desperately, _**desperately **_tried to regain some kind of self-control (_what had he been __**thinking **__following her here?! This was so humiliating - he didn't know what to do, and the __**whore **__just kept playing with him!_)

"I'm sorry if I seem a little nervous…" she suddenly said, abruptly bringing him out of his own mind as she leaned towards him from the other side of the small table and smiled, looking everything but nervous. "…I seldom have such _**important **_company."

(_Whore_)

"It always seemed strange to me. Surely men such as yourself would be in the most need of some relaxation once in a while?"

(_Whore, whore, __**whore **__– he had to remember that! Out there it was safe to watch and admire and lust, because that's the closest he'd ever get to her, but in here, inside this room, was her domain, her game, and he still wasn't entirely sure how to play yet_)

"Perhaps important men, such as myself, don't feel the need to humiliate themselves by performing silly, barbaric rituals like those simpleton excuses of homosapiens littering the streets of the city."

She raised one delicate, amused eyebrow at him that made him feel incredibly stupid and impossibly small, both at once.

"And yet here you are, Mayuri-sama…" she responded, making him frown and look down at the floor. "…like any other simpleton excuse of a homosapiens, you came here, by your own free will…" from the corner of his eyes, he saw her get down on all fours to crawl towards him around the table, as elegant and gracious as a cat. He gulped. "…you came here, to me, a silly performer of barbaric rituals…" As her hand came to rest at his thigh, he had to resist the urge to slap her. Mayuri's heart was beating heavy and fast, a trail of cold sweat was rinsing down his back and when their eyes met, gold clashing against gold, he shivered. Slowly, _**devastatingly **_slowly, Yoruichi, _**his **_Yoruichi, leaned in towards him, buried one hand in his hair and whispered into his ear: "…you came here to perform those very same barbaric rituals with me, and I came here to fuck your brains out, Mayuri-_chan~_"

He gasped, grabbed her arm, felt his groin _**scream **_with desire and tried to breathe as she started to trail his painted jawbone with butterfly kisses that left his skin _**burning. **_

His mind was swimming with thoughts (_what were they doing, what was __**he **__doing?! Snap out of it, snap out of it, __**snap out of it!**_), emotions (_fear, humiliation, nervousness, doubt, happiness, excitement, __**lust**_) and desires (_grab her buttocks, make her bleed, kiss her lips, make her __**scream**_); but under her hands he was as helpless as a puppet, unable to move or even _talk___as she made him turn his chin upwards to reveal more of his throat and felt her teeth gnaw at his skin playfully.

Slowly, he found it in himself to release his iron grip on her arm and move his hands to her back, where he buried his finger in the silk of her dress and fisted the soft fabric.

Then, suddenly, her hand found his groin, and he let out a loud, ragged moan as she grabbed his cock through his pants, making a sudden flash of white appear before his eyes and raw, hot _**passion **_rush through him like a tidal wave (_**WHORE!**_).

And then, just like that, panic took him and he pulled away from her frantically, just before he slapped her, right over her perfect face, making her fall to the floor with a chocked yelp.

Filled with fear, regret and _**disgust **_over his own, bestial, lust filled behavior, Mayuri stumbled onto his feet, watched Yoruichi (_**his**__Yoru__**-WHORE-**__ichi_), turn to him with wide, hurt, confused eyes, felt them burn into him, and fled before she'd had the time to ask what she'd done wrong.


End file.
